The present invention relates generally to an apparatus for archery bow sighting and, in particular, to a bow string mounted rear sight assembly.
An archer, operating a bow, mounts a nock of an arrow at a nocking point on a bow string of the bow prior to drawing the bow string. A shaft of the arrow is placed on a arrow rest position generally at a midpoint on one side of the bow. The archer then draws the bow string back generally using the fingers of one hand while holding the bow with the opposite hand. Traditionally, to establish proper arrow trajectory once the bow string is fully drawn, the archer typically placed the hand griping the bow string at a reference point on or near the archer's face and also aligned his eye directly behind a vertical plane passing through the side of the bow against which the arrow is rested and the drawn bow string for target sighting.
Such a target sighting process was prone to error. To improve the accuracy and precision of the sighting process, bows and bow strings were provided with various sighting devices to assist the archer in establishing proper arrow trajectory.
Such sighting devices have included sighting pins for installation on the bow and peep sights for installation in or on the bow string. Sighting pins are adjustably mounted on and extend horizontally from the bow at a preset position above the arrow rest and are used in conjunction with a peep sight mounted in spaced relation above the nocking point so as to be in the line of sight of the archer. Thus, use of peep sights and sighting pins improve the archer's ability to establish proper arrow alignment and trajectory.
In low light conditions, however, target sights are difficult or impossible to use. One solution, associated with fire arms, has been to provide an illuminated sight. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,987,821, 3,678,590 and 3,914,873 disclose lighted sights for guns.
Lighted front sights and sighting pins have been used with bows. For example the following U.S. Pat. Nos. show lighted front sights for bows: 4,117,572; 4,215,484; 4,638,565; 4,689,887; 4,928,394; 4,953,302; and 4,977,677.
The traditional peep sights also have been difficult to use in low light conditions. Such peep sights are shown in the U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,703,770, 3,703,771, 3,859,733 and 4,011,853.